WASHINGTON (Kashmir English): US President Donald Trump has said that an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight planned at the White House will take place on his 80th birthday, despite the much-hyped event previously being announced for July 4.
“On June 14 next year, we’re going to have a big UFC fight at the White House — right at the White House, on the grounds of the White House,” Trump told a crowd of Navy sailors at the huge naval base Norfolk in Virginia.
The President didn’t mention that June 14 is his birthday or that he will turn 80 next year.
This year, on his 79th birthday, Trump held a military parade to commemorate the founding of the US Army.
UFC boss Dana White
In August, UFC boss Dana White said the mixed martial arts bout at the White House would be held on July 4, 2026, the day the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding.
Donald Trump has been a regular guest at the often-bloody UFC contests, where fighters punch, kick, and grapple with their opponent in a no-holds-barred battle to submission or knockout.
The June 14 brutal combat will mark a historic first as the sport will come to the centre of US political power.
At a press conference shared on UFC’s YouTube channel, White said that early next year, “we’ll start looking at building the White House card, which I will right now tell you will be the greatest fight card ever assembled in the history of this company.”
UFC remains the largest and most successful organisation in the burgeoning world of MMA, a blend of martial arts disciplines like boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling.
An eight-sided ring — dubbed “The Octagon” —bounded by a chainlink fence hosts the bouts.
With few exceptions — such as eye-gouging — male and female fighters are allowed to employ almost any technique to attack their opponent.
